Vom Zaren bis zu Stalin

Disregard the bad reviews from what seem to be high school students. (I won't comment on their validity for a high school audience.) If you are familiar with the history of Russia in the first part of the 20th century you will surely enjoy this documentary. Lots of footage of now-obscure players weaved into a frenetic but understandable narration. Especially if you like really old newsreel-style footage you should try to see this. (MPI Video was the distributor on VHS, but it is also listed on at least one sales site.) The naked men swimming went on for about a minute -- they were Czar Nicholas and his cronies. Trotsky reads a screed denouncing Stalin in English. The Russia Civil War -- the Reds vs. the Whites. Except for a brief passage which seemed to be lifted from a Russian film about the revolution, almost everything looks authentic. I've seen this twice and in a few years will see it again.